Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Following Coherent Multichannel Nuclear Wave Packets In Pump-Probe Studies Of O₂ With Ultrashort Laser Pulses, S. Xue, H. Du, B. Hu, C. D. Lin, Anh-Thu Le

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We reexamine the recent pump-probe experiment with O₂ using short intense infrared laser pulses theoretically. Using parameters that closely mimic the experimental conditions and taking into account the angle-dependent population redistribution due to resonant coupling between the relevant states, we show that the observed kinetic energy release spectra, including the energy-dependent structure and the quantum beat frequencies, can be accurately reproduced. Our results reveal additional important channels that were missed earlier. In particular, the strong contributions from O₂+a⁴Π_u and b⁴Σ_b- states lead to the possibility of observing the interchannel beating. We further demonstrate …